About John

JOHN C. CATLIN was born and raised in Connecticut in a loving home with his parents and older brother. His mother took the two boys to a Presbyterian church in New Haven every week to attend Sunday School and services. His parents went to retreats in Simsbury, and sometimes visited Rock Harbor Manor on Cape Cod, to listen to the teaching of two laywomen: Cay Andersen and Judy Sorensen. His family became part of a circle of friends made up of others in Connecticut who followed Cay & Judy.

When he was 11 years old, John’s parents decided to move the family to the Community of Jesus, Inc., a then-newly-formed (1970) religious group that Cay & Judy founded based on their teachings & interpretations of the Bible. Over the years, many people have claimed “the Community” is a cult, but the leadership has always denied it.

As a child, John felt a closeness to God and occasionally surprised adults with his insights. He never considered anything he experienced as unusual or special. Over time, he lost touch with his personal connection to the Creator, even to the point of skepticism.

After 22 years of living at or being closely tied to the Community of Jesus, John left the group and went through many years of personal struggle. While he was overcoming the many obstacles of recovery from an abusive group, he became a student of cult psychology, religion, spirituality, and near-death experiences. He spent time re-examining his spiritual beliefs, based on books by, documentaries about, and conversations with Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, angelic communicators, mediums, intuitives, and spiritual healers.

Through it all, he has watched the healing that has taken place in his own life and the life of others. Today he spends much of his time trying to help others realize the same in their lives, and sharing his experience that led to a whole new perspective.

We are all here to learn, to love, and to help one another; to overcome, to grow, to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and come out on the other side; to each walk our own individual journey, to enjoy the company of others whose paths cross or parallel ours for a season, and to find God on our terms.